Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1946 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R6002 MM-F
2	2	By: Rosenthal H.B. No. 1946
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the categorization, collection, and publication of
8	8	demographic and other information pertaining to certain public
9	9	benefits programs.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
12	12	amended by adding Sections 531.0316 and 531.03161 to read as
13	13	follows:
14	14	Sec. 531.0316. COLLECTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA. (a)
15	15	Notwithstanding any other law, if the commission or a health and
16	16	human services agency collects the demographic data of individuals
17	17	who receive benefits under a health benefits program administered
18	18	by the commission or agency, as applicable, the commission or
19	19	agency, as applicable, shall, when collecting data relating to:
20	20	(1) the race or ethnic origin of an individual,
21	21	provide the individual the option to select or identify appropriate
22	22	categories and subcategories of race and ethnic origin, including:
23	23	(A) the category of Hispanic or Latino with the
24	24	option to select or identify the following subcategories:
25	25	(i) Argentinian;
26	26	(ii) Colombian;
27	27	(iii) Cuban;
28	28	(iv) Dominican (Dominican Republic);
29	29	(v) Ecuadoran;
30	30	(vi) Guatemalan;
31	31	(vii) Honduran;
32	32	(viii) Mexican;
33	33	(ix) Nicaraguan;
34	34	(x) Panamanian;
35	35	(xi) Peruvian;
36	36	(xii) Puerto Rican;
37	37	(xiii) Salvadoran;
38	38	(xiv) Spaniard;
39	39	(xv) Venezuelan; and
40	40	(xvi) another subcategory written in by the
41	41	individual;
42	42	(B) the category of African American with the
43	43	option to select or identify the following subcategories:
44	44	(i) Black American (born in the United
45	45	States with African ancestry);
46	46	(ii) Afro-Caribbean;
47	47	(iii) Nigerian;
48	48	(iv) Ethiopian;
49	49	(v) Kenyan;
50	50	(vi) South African;
51	51	(vii) Ghanaian; and
52	52	(viii) another subcategory written in by
53	53	the individual;
54	54	(C) the category of Native American with the
55	55	option to select or identify the following subcategories:
56	56	(i) Apache;
57	57	(ii) Cherokee;
58	58	(iii) Chickasaw;
59	59	(iv) Choctaw;
60	60	(v) Mexican American Indian;
61	61	(vi) Navajo; and
62	62	(vii) another subcategory written in by the
63	63	individual;
64	64	(D) the category of Pacific Islander with the
65	65	option to select or identify the following subcategories:
66	66	(i) Chamorro;
67	67	(ii) Guamanian;
68	68	(iii) Marshallese;
69	69	(iv) Native Hawaiian;
70	70	(v) Samoan;
71	71	(vi) Tongan; and
72	72	(vii) another subcategory written in by the
73	73	individual;
74	74	(E) the category of Asian with the option to
75	75	select or identify the following subcategories:
76	76	(i) Indian;
77	77	(ii) Bangladeshi;
78	78	(iii) Burmese;
79	79	(iv) Cambodian;
80	80	(v) Chinese (except Taiwanese);
81	81	(vi) Filipino;
82	82	(vii) Iranian;
83	83	(viii) Japanese;
84	84	(ix) Korean;
85	85	(x) Laotian;
86	86	(xi) Nepalese;
87	87	(xii) Pakistani;
88	88	(xiii) Taiwanese;
89	89	(xiv) Thai;
90	90	(xv) Vietnamese; and
91	91	(xvi) another subcategory written in by the
92	92	individual; and
93	93	(F) the category of Middle Eastern and North
94	94	African with the option to select or identify the following
95	95	subcategories:
96	96	(i) Egyptian;
97	97	(ii) Iraqi;
98	98	(iii) Jordanian;
99	99	(iv) Lebanese;
100	100	(v) Palestinian;
101	101	(vi) Syrian; and
102	102	(vii) another subcategory written in by the
103	103	individual;
104	104	(2) the sex or gender of an individual, ask the
105	105	following questions:
106	106	(A) "What is your gender identity?" and, in
107	107	response to the question, provide the individual the option to
108	108	select or identify as:
109	109	(i) genderqueer;
110	110	(ii) man;
111	111	(iii) nonbinary;
112	112	(iv) transgender man;
113	113	(v) transgender woman;
114	114	(vi) woman; and
115	115	(vii) another sex or gender written in by
116	116	the individual;
117	117	(B) "What sex were you assigned on your original
118	118	birth certificate or other legal document confirming birth?" and,
119	119	in response to the question, provide the individual the option to
120	120	select:
121	121	(i) female;
122	122	(ii) male;
123	123	(iii) "I was not assigned a sex at birth";
124	124	or
125	125	(iv) "I was not issued a birth certificate
126	126	or other legal document confirming my birth";
127	127	(C) "Do you identify as intersex?" and, in
128	128	response to the question, provide the individual the option to
129	129	select:
130	130	(i) no; or
131	131	(ii) yes; and
132	132	(D) "What does intersex mean to you?" and, in
133	133	response to the question, provide the individual the option to
134	134	enter the individual's answer; and
135	135	(3) more than one demographic category, include the
136	136	sexual orientation of an individual as a category and provide the
137	137	individual with the option to select or identify as:
138	138	(A) asexual;
139	139	(B) bisexual;
140	140	(C) gay;
141	141	(D) heterosexual;
142	142	(E) lesbian;
143	143	(F) pansexual;
144	144	(G) queer;
145	145	(H) questioning;
146	146	(I) same-gender loving; and
147	147	(J) another sexual orientation written in by the
148	148	individual.
149	149	(b) The commission shall ensure that each local entity,
150	150	including a local governmental entity, responsible for providing
151	151	demographic data to the commission or a health and human services
152	152	agency in connection with a public benefits program administered by
153	153	the commission or agency, as applicable, provides the data in the
154	154	manner prescribed by this section.
155	155	(c) In collecting demographic data, the commission and each
156	156	health and human services agency shall provide individuals from
157	157	whom the data is sought the option to select more than one category
158	158	for race or ethnic origin and more than one subcategory for race or
159	159	ethnic origin.
160	160	(d) The provision of demographic data under this section by
161	161	an individual is voluntary.
162	162	(e) Not later than the first anniversary of the date the
163	163	federal decennial census is published, the commission shall update
164	164	the subcategories of race or ethnic origin to include only the
165	165	subcategories with populations larger than 7,500 as published by
166	166	the United States Census Bureau, except that each category must
167	167	include at least the six largest subcategories.
168	168	(f) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary
169	169	to implement this section.
170	170	Sec. 531.03161. COLLECTION AND CROSS-TABULATION ANALYSIS
171	171	OF CERTAIN DATA; PUBLICATION. (a) The commission and each health
172	172	and human services agency that administers a public benefits
173	173	program shall collect the following data regarding individuals who
174	174	receive, or were receiving at the time of the individual's death,
175	175	benefits under a program:
176	176	(1) the individual's level of English proficiency; and
177	177	(2) whether the individual:
178	178	(A) has a disability;
179	179	(B) has health benefits coverage;
180	180	(C) has been diagnosed with a chronic condition,
181	181	including cancer, obesity, diabetes, or asthma;
182	182	(D) has access to health care, including
183	183	preventive care services;
184	184	(E) has a diagnosed mental health disorder;
185	185	(F) is or has been pregnant;
186	186	(G) died as a result of a pregnancy-related
187	187	cause; and
188	188	(H) had a child who died as an infant.
189	189	(b) To the extent permitted by federal law and if requested
190	190	by the commission, a local entity, including a local governmental
191	191	entity, responsible for providing demographic data to the
192	192	commission or a health and human services agency in connection with
193	193	a public benefits program administered by the commission or agency,
194	194	as applicable, shall report to the commission the data described by
195	195	Subsection (a) to the extent that data is known or obtainable by the
196	196	entity.
197	197	(c) The commission shall prepare a cross-tabulation
198	198	analysis of the data described by Subsection (a) and the
199	199	demographic data collected under Section 531.0316, including data
200	200	related to the race or ethnic origin, sex or gender, and sexual
201	201	orientation of individuals. The analysis conducted under this
202	202	subsection must consider subcategories and suboptions.
203	203	(d) Subject to Subsection (f) and to the extent permitted by
204	204	federal law, the commission shall make available to the public on
205	205	its Internet website in an easy-to-read format metric data obtained
206	206	as the result of the cross-tabulation analysis conducted under this
207	207	section and organized by the demographic data collected in
208	208	accordance with Section 531.0316. The metric data published under
209	209	this section must be organized by category and then by subcategory
210	210	or suboption, as applicable.
211	211	(e) The commission shall annually update the metric data
212	212	published under Subsection (d).
213	213	(f) The storage and communication of data under this section
214	214	must comply with existing federal and state privacy laws governing
215	215	individually identifiable information. Data made available to the
216	216	public under this section may not identify or allow for the
217	217	identification of individuals.
218	218	(g) This section does not prevent a state agency from
219	219	posting demographic data collected by the agency on the agency's
220	220	Internet website.
221	221	(h) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary
222	222	to implement this section.
223	223	SECTION 2. Not later than December 1, 2024, the Health and
224	224	Human Services Commission shall publish on its Internet website the
225	225	metric data required under Section 531.03161(d), Government Code,
226	226	as added by this Act.
227	227	SECTION 3. If before implementing any provision of this Act
228	228	a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
229	229	federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
230	230	the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
231	231	authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
232	232	waiver or authorization is granted.
233	233	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.